FDG PET studies during treatment: Prediction of therapy outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) provides metabolic information of tissues in vivo. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of PET with 2-[(18) F] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in prediction of therapy outcome (tumor response, survival, and locoregional control) in locally advanced HNSCC. METHODS: Between 1993 and 1999 47 patients underwent PET before (PET(1)) and after (P